Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun state on Tuesday said he had take a loan of N7 billion to pay workers’ salaries in May because his predecessor left an empty treasury.
The Ogun state governor said this while addressing leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
According to Abiodun, said that he would not want to reveal everything he met on ground when he assumed office in May, but would do all he could to ensure he doesn’t spend his administration blaming the previous.
Abiodun said he met with his friends, who are managing directors of banks to give him to loan to pay salaries after he was told by the state head of service that they have “very little or no money” in the treasury.
“May 30 was our first day in office. And on the 31st, it dawn on me that it was the end of the month and we need to pay salaries,” Abiodun said.
“But here we are on our second day in office. I don’t even have an office; I don’t even know how to sign any document; I don’t even know what the protocols are. Suddenly, we realised it was 31st and I intend to keep my end of the tripartite agreement.
“So, I called the head of service; I told him we must pay salary. But he said to me, ‘You are new in government and everybody understands that you just assumed office and we don’t have that expectation of you paying salaries now. They (workers) will understand. There is very little or no money. We can talk to them.’
“I told the head of service, whether they (the workers) were expectant or not, it was my promise to the people that salaries would be paid as and when due.
“So, I picked my phone and called my friends who are MDs in different banks. I told them I needed to pay salaries and this is the little I have; almost nothing in the state account.
“I requested for a credit facility to allow me to pay over N7bn which is the state wage bill. That day, my intention was that maybe one or two will oblige me, but the five banks I called obliged me.
“We have by far too many things to do than to begin to be bogged down by what someone did or what he did not do or what he left behind.
“I cannot begin to describe in the open to you the Ogun State that we inherited. I cannot begin to describe it to you. I will not because I have made up my mind that publicly and privately, I will not discuss anything about the past administration.
“We have resolved to draw the line and to move forward from there. We need to be focused. We are going to rebrand and re-launch the security trust fund.”
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